Part three: GET OFF THE FENCE!
Let me remind you of the challenges of this message.
I believe that it is time for the children of God to arise, and get ourselves up from the place of complacency in our Spirit and in our flesh, and ’get off the fence!’
I believe that it is time for the Church of the Living God to step up to her place and become what God intended for her to be!
I believe that it is time for “THE SANCTUARY” to ARISE FROM HER SLUMBER, GET OFF OF THE FENCE OF MEDIOCRITY, AND BECOME THE CHURCH OF DESTINY THAT GOD HAS SPOKEN OF SO MANY TIMES!
Tell your neighbor, “We’re coming off the fence!”
turn to the Book of Genesis Chapter 35:
Subtitle: The Process of Blessing
Genesis 35:1 And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother. (2) Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:
Jacob told his family and his workers to do three things:
1. Put away the strange gods that are among you
2. be clean
3. change your garments
This is the Process that will lead you to your Promise!
1. Put Away your strange Idols – Get your focus off of the other distractions, and get your focus on God! GOD WANTS YOUR FULL ATTENTION!
Exodus 20:3-4 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. (4) Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
God is a jealous God, and He doesn’t want us to worship ANY one, or ANY thing but Him.
It’s time for the church to stop straddling the fences that separate Worldliness from Godliness! It’s time to get it right, and worship God alone!
The old song comes back to my mind ~ “Give me that Old time religion!”
The old time religion wasn’t tainted by religious actions, and repetition, it was pure religion, in that worship was unto God, and not to the world!
James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
The world has a lot to offer, yes, but it’s time for us to quit teetering back and forth, and get back to the heart of the matter, and Worship God, NOT THE WORLD!
After all, it’s our HEART THAT MATTERS! Set your affections not on the things of this world, and the things that do corrupt you, but set your affections on Christ Jesus!
SHOUT - IT’S TIME TO GET OFF THE FENCE!
The second thing Jacob told his family and workers to do was:
2. BE CLEAN! Purify Yourselves - Make sure your life is under the Blood.
Genesis 35: (2) Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:
Matthew 23:25-26 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. (26) Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
· It’s time for the church to Return to the Altar of Sacrifice
· It’s time for the church to Purge her sins with the Fire!
· It’s time for the church to Wash away the uncleanness of the world with the Word of God!
· It’s time to Set yourselves apart – sanctify yourselves for the work of the Lord!
· God uses purified vessels for His work!
· God uses vessels that have paid the price to be set aside!
· Are you willing to be made clean?
Titus 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
1Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:
· It’s time to get the uncleanness out of the Body of Christ!
· It’s time to ‘tarry’ – at the altars again! Tarry means to stay there until something changes!
· Pray
· Until
· Something
· Happens!
· There’s just not enough PUSH in the church today!
· There’s got to be some People With Pregnant Praise To Begin Entering The House Of God, with a refusal to leave the altar until they have PUSHed and Pressed their way into the HOLY OF HOLIES!
· It’s time to PUSH past what is comfortable
· It’s time to PUSH past what is the unknown.
· It’s time to PUSH until your soul gets past the gates of the flesh man and the Spirit begins breaking loose!
· It’s time to allow the fire of God to burn away the SELF issues, so He can use us again!
· It’s time to follow after God’s heart!
· Only a pure heart, and clean hands can pursue God successfully!
Psalms 24:3-5 Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? (4) He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. (5) He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
In order to be clean, you’ve got to GET OFF THE FENCE!
The third thing Jacob told his family and workers to do was:
3. Change Your GARMENTS – Change your Clothes – A change of clothes can bring on major changes.
Let us focus in for a moment on the Spiritual garments that we wear.
· A Change from dirty to clean – in the flesh, can bring you confidence – surety in whose you are!
· (in the Spirit, from sin to righteousness, brings us confidence in whose we are!)
· From Old clothes to new clothes – in the flesh, brings joy, happiness!
i. It’s always uplifting to the spirit to put on something new!
ii. This too is observed in the Spiritual! New life in Christ brings JOY UNSPEAKABLE AND FULL OF GLORY!
· A Change of style – in the flesh, this can bring on a new attitude!
o In the Spirit, It can even change your outlook on life!
§ From negative to positive!
§ Hopeless to full of hope!
· When God gets hold of your life,
o He will change your Spiritual clothes from Levi Strauss to Armani!
o He will change you From LACK to OVERLOAD in your Spirit!
o From Spiritual slumlords to Kings and Priests!
· He will change you from hanging your head down, to holding your head up!
Genesis 35: (2) Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:
It’s time to change our garments! It’s time to trade the garment of heaviness and put on a garment of praise!
Isa 61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
· When we ‘GET OFF THE FENCE’ OUR PRAISE WILL CHANGE!
· OUR PRAISE WILL CHANGE RADICALLY,
· BECAUSE IT WILL BRING US INTO THE PRESENCE OF OUR CREATOR, AND ALL THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO DO IS DELCARE HIS WORTH BY WORSHIPPING HIM WITH OUR TOTAL BEING!
As a matter of fact, it’s time for some people to start practicing now!
Somebody begin to let your praises ring to the heavens!
